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Monday, 15 August 2016

Yewdale Fells

With our far more ambitious plans (climb Pillar Rock) shelved by a poor weather forecast we turned to a small group of small Birketts below the Coniston Fells.

Kitty Crag (1427ft), Long Crag, High Wythow, Low Wythow and Brackney Crag all sit above Yewdale and below the Furness Fells. Together they provide a delightful, if short, outing that could have been designed for poor weather. Kitty Crag is the highest of the group and the wind was so strong we were unable to stand on the summit. Occasional glimpses of sunshine on distant fells were punctuated by bursts of rain which we were happy to avoid. This has been a good year for the bracken which is higher than I can ever remember it being. These summits are above the "bracken line" but our initial ascent and final descent were made more difficult by the band of high, dense bracken. Seeking a little shelter from the wind we took the path down through a gully to Far End, at least, that is where we ended up by design. The start of the descent is completely obscured by bracken and more than once we found ourselves standing on top of a small crag with no option other than to retrace our steps.

High Pike Haw

High Pike Haw turns out to be an unexpectedly sharp pointed, very shapely hill in the lowlands below the high Coniston fells and an absolute delight.
Couple of pints in the Blacksmiths Arms at Broughton where they have a 'replica' Carlisle State Bitter. The last time I had a pint of this it was brewed by the still-nationalised State Brewery.